The Next Legend
by puellaignava
Summary: In a modern world, Link and Zelda find Hyrule under attack by dark forces-the first time in centuries./I maaaay not finish this, it was an idea that just popped into my head and idk how I'll go about doing it tbh.
1. Prolouge

Years have passed since the last Hero arose. The tales became legend, legend became myth and myth was forgotten. The land has changed drastically. New inventions now dominate the horizon. People can now connect to each other from across the land in an instant. The different species live together in harmony, coexisting like their ancestors could not. It is a time of peace that has lasted hundreds of years, something that was previously unheard of and thought impossible. The darkness that once repeatedly plagued the world was vanquished long ago.

Or so it would seem.

The land of Hyrule still hides secrets deep within mysterious groves and grottoes. Since Link defeated Ganondorf last, peace has reigned, for the fear of darknes no longer loomed over the land. Gorons, Zoras and the other residents bonded together, convinced that a united Hyrule would be forever safe. They were right, for a time...

But darkness cannot be vanquished completely. Shadows lurk everywhere. And just as the darkness returns, so does the light...a young hero and heroine are about to embark on a quest that will change Hyrule forever.


	2. It Awakens

"Wake up, sleepy head!" someone giggled before hitting him with a pillow. Link groaned and rolled over.

"Five more minutes..."

"No! We need to go!" Zelda said with a huff.

"We dont have anything to do for hours..."

"Sure we do, we're gonna explore the sewers!"

"Eeeeewwwwwwww, why?" Link asked, scrunching up his nose. He pushed himself up and sat, looking at her standing in the middle of their small flat. It wasn't much, but being students with no money, this was all they could afford. The school had a special program for students seeking upper level education, but couldnt afford to live in the fancy dorms. Two low income students to a small flat. Two beds, a bathroom and a kitchenette tucked next to the front door. The only window was against the wall opposite the door, letting in the mid morning light.

"Because, I read-"

"In a dusty old book."

"-about some myths and stuff! There used to be a castle here, its probably where Castle Town got its name!"

"Wow, what a stretch." Link muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Zelda hit him with a pillow again.

"You promised!" she said, glaring at him and placing her hands on her hips.

"Ugh, fine." he moaned, falling back onto his bed.

"Yaay! Get dressed!" she said happily, tossing him some clothes at random. "I've got everything packed!"

"Terrific..." he mumbled.

Zelda led the way to the sewer opening near the school's apartment complex. They were dressed in grays and browns, not wanting to stand out. The sewers were forbidden to civilians.

Zelda pried open the metal grate, put her flashlight in her mouth and began her descent on the rusty ladder that led down into the sewers. "I'm done!" she called as her feet splashed on the slippery walkway below. Link descended, squinting in the darkness. Zelda was pointing her flashlight up and down, watching for anybody who might happen upon them.

"Ok." she said when Link was down with her. She pulled a book out of her backpack and flipped it open. The heavy, old book did not open easily, but after adjusting her hold she managed to find the page she wanted. "Says here that...from here we go..."

"You're mumbling to yourself. Mind sharing?" Link said, exasperated.

"Look just follow me." she said, smacking him on the back of the head and shoving the book back into her backpack. She stomped off into the darkness, watching her step with the flashlight. Link rolled his eyes and followed her.

"We are so going to smell after this."

After an hour of wandering the twists and turns of the sewers, Zelda stopped.

"What? Give up?" Link asked, hoping that she did so he could shower.

"No. Look up ahead, the walls change. They've looked the same up till now."

"So?"

"So...lets keep going that way." she said pointing forwards. She continued on, a little bit more excited.

They reached the area where the walls changed from smooth concrete to brick and mortar. The further they walked the more debris they noticed.

"There wasnt anything before. And this is really old, look at it all." Zelda said quietly.

Link nodded to himself, apprehensive. They didnt know what they were looking for or what would be ahead.

Soon the tunnel opened to a slightly large room. It was dark and the air was stale.

"Ick." Zelda said cringing as some dust fell from the ceiling. She illuminated broken columns and statues with her flashlight. "Hey look at this big one." she said, walking to it.

"Zelda, be careful, we dont know how old this place is or anything." Link said cautiously.

"Baby." Zelda mocked, sticking her tongue out.

"I am not!" Link said indignantly. He strode over to the large, crumpled statue as if to prove his courage.

Almost all of it was rubble and dust, but something remained: three triangles arranged in a triangle.

"This is the symbol that was in the book!" Zelda set down her backpack and pulled the book out. After a moment of crouching and flipping pages, she stood up and shoved the book in Link's face. "See? They called it the Triforce." She pulled the book back and scanned the page. "Something about a gift from the goddess...one is power, one is courage, and one is wisdom."

"Weird." Link murmured. He couldnt stop staring at the Triforce. It felt as though he knew it, as if it were an old friend he hadnt seen in ages.

"Do you feel it too?" Zelda asked after a long moment. "Like its...a part of you that you've been missing for a long time..."

"Yeah..."

Far away, in a dark forgotten place, darkness and evil incarnate rose.


	3. Heroes: Arise

A distant booming echoed through the chamber. Zelda and Link jumped.

"Crap, the parade's starting! C'mon!" Zelda said, taking Link by the hand and dragging him back the way they came.

"Why do we have to go?" Link asked, struggling to keep up. He gained his footing and ran beside her.

"It's for a grade! We need to write a review of it!"

As they ran through the murky sewers they could hear the growing sound of people cheering and yelling as they moved to the parade street. The only big celebration the people of Hyrule celebrated was Hylia Day, in honour of the legendary woman who ruled over Hyrule at the beginning of time. Not many believed in the story and only celebrated because of tradition. There were fringe groups who believed Hylia to be the reigning goddess of the land, but many mocked their beliefs. Hylia had become a mythical figure who watches over children and brings presents to all who are worthy of them.

Upon reaching the ladder where they entered, Link climbed up and shoved the metal grate out of the way. Zelda tossed up the flashlight and climbed up after him. "We need to see the parade, shower, write up our review and turn it in to Professor Impa before nightfall!" Zelda yelled over the cacophony. Link nodded and together the weaved through the crowd, climbed up some scaffolding above the walkway and situated themselves so they could view the parade.

"Best view in the house." Link said with a smirk. They high-fived and turned as a canon boomed nearby.

The parade began with the official Castle Town band and dancers. Several floats decked out in bright colours and glitter and flowers followed in a slow procession. Many depicted Hylia giving children presents, or sprinkling the ground with water or decorated in flowers of all kinds. Some floats threw candy to the children in the front row, others used glitter and confetti canons to shower the crowd.

Amidst the excitement, Zelda saw a flicker of light below in a dark empty alley. She shook her head and turned back to the parade, but then she noticed it again, this time brighter. "Hey, Link, c'mere a sec." she said, tugging on the sleeve of his green hoodie. Before he could say a word, she was climbing down and in the alley. Link scurried after her.

"What in the-" he began but stopped when he came up behind her.

At the end of the alley was a woman, glowing and golden. She was beautiful, and carried a harp with her. She motioned for the two to come closer. After a hesitant moment, they slowly walked towards the mysterious woman. When they were an arms length away, they stopped.

"I am Hylia. I come to you, my heroes, on the eve of a great conflict." the woman began.

"What? You're Hylia?" Zelda asked, stunned.

"You're real?!" Link asked loudly.

Hylia motioned for them to be quiet and they obeyed. "All will be revealed to you once you complete four tasks. You must rescue the Golden Goddesses from the claws of evil. Afterwards you must further prove yourself worthy of the Weapons of Heroes."

"You must be...what...this is crazy!" Zelda said, glancing at Link. He shook his head, at a lost for words.

"Take this to Impa. She will guide you." Hylia handed the harp to Zelda. Once she took it, its glow faded and it looked like a harp made of gold. Hylia disappeared, leaving the two in a dark alley.

"What just happened." Zelda asked after several quiet moments.

"I dont know, but we have reviews t o write."

The two tried to focus on writing, but the golden harp and Hylia's message distracted them. What should have taken a few minutes took hours.

As the sun began its descent the two teens hurried through the school to their professor's room. Just as she was locking up, they came to a halt, panting.

"Waiting till the last minute, again. Given that the parade ended hours ago, I expected these before now." she scolded, taking their papers.

"We have...a reason..." Zelda said, trying to catch her breath.

"Oh, really?" Impa asked, arching an eyebrow.

Zelda pulled the golden harp out of her book bag. Impa's eyes grew wide and shoved it back into the bag. "Follow me." she said under her breath. The two looked at each other, hesitant, but followed their professor.

She led them to a dim corner of the library where few venture.

"Um...do you still want our reviews...?" Link asked awkwardly.

"That's besides the point now. We have bigger things to worry about. Pull out the harp." Impa said curtly.

Zelda gently placed the harp on the book table.

"This harp is almost as old as time itself. When Hyurle was created, the three goddesses trusted Hylia to protect the Triforce. What followed started a reincarnation cycle of the blood of Hylia, the spirit of the hero, and hatred and evil." Impa said as she pulled out a thick, dusty book.

"Hey, that looks a bit like mine..." Zelda said, pulling her book out of her bag.

Impa smiled. "I was wondering where the second volume went. These books contain the history of Hyrule. Whenever a great evil threatens the land, one who has the blood of the goddess and one who possesses the spirit of the hero rise up to defeat it. Hylia became mortal to continue protecting the Triforce from evil in human reincarnations." She opened the book to a picture of the Triforce with the three golden triangles labeled. "One for wisdom, one for courage, and one for power." She pointed ay each one in turn.

"What does this have to do with us?" Link asked.

"Give me your right hand, Zelda." Impa reached for her hand. "Link, your left." The two reached out their hands. Impa took them gently and turned their palms down. For a moment nothing happened. Link and Zelda shared a skeptical look. Then, a faint glow in the shape of the Triforce appeared on their hands. The two gasped, yanking their hands away and staring closely.

"What does this mean?!" Zelda asked incredulously.

"Zelda, you are of the blood of the goddess. Link, you possess the spirit of the hero. Together you must face and defeat the evil that has already begun to spread."

"What do you mean? Theres nothing spreading! Everything is fine!" Link said desperately.

"On the outskirts of Hyrule Field, where there is little development, monsters have begun snatching people. They are angry, and want to retake what was once their land. Dark forces are using this anger to conquer Hyrule."

"Why now?" Zelda asked.

"The darkness has trapped the three golden goddesses deep within wild lands. You must free them. The world depends on it." she smiled sadly. "I know this is a great burden to place on your shoulders. But if you work together, you can overcome anything. Go to Kakiriko Village, speak to the shaman. He will guide you on the first step of your journey. Go, pack, move quickly. Take these books. We dont have long." Zelda and Link nodded and left, books in hand. Impa sat down, watching them depart, unsure if she would see them again.


	4. Move

"Zelda, are we seriously going to go through with this?" Link asked, trailing behind her. "I mean this is insane, this is impossible."

"Look, I know, I know." she said, stopping and turning to face him. "It's crazy, it doesnt make sense but….it feels like the truth." She looked earnestly at him. "Doesnt it?"

Link sighed. "Yea...I cant explain it but...we need to get to Kakiriko village." Zelda nodded and they ran back to their flat to pack.

An hour later and the childhood friends were boarding a bus that would take them to the edge of the suburbs. They moved to the back of the bus and sat down, taking up the whole back bench with their two bags. A few passengers gave them strange looks but didnt seem to give them a second thought.

"Ok, its the last stop and then we need to get a cab." Zelda said, reiterating the plan they had formed while they were packing.

"This'll be a few hours, you wanna nap for a bit? Not sure how much downtime we'll have when we get to Kakiriko…" Link asked.

"No, I'm not tired, you can if you want though." Zelda said, pulling out one of the old books.

"'Aight." Link said, arranging himself so he could lean against the window and nap comfortably.

As the night drew on, the bus made a few stops in the suburbs. It was one of many in a system of convenient transportation for all of Hyrule. As other passengers boarded or departed, they brought different snippets of news. Zelda overheard two construction workers complaining about their coworkers, a gaggle of young girls going home after a half night of partying and a bedraggled young woman who sat right in front of Zelda.

The woman's phone went off suddenly, startling Zelda out of a daze.

"Yes?" the woman answered. "Yeah, I'm on my way right now. What? Thats unprecedented...civilians have been evacuated? Good, good. Keep it under wraps until we can find out whats going on. I'll call you when I'm in Kakiriko. Ok, bye." she shut off her phone and stuffed it back in her pocket.

"Um...ma'am?" Zelda asked, tapping the woman on her shoulder.

"Oh...yes?" she asked, tired.

"You're going to Kakiriko?"

"Yes…?"

"Well….we are too. Could we get a cab together perhaps?"

"Oh….yes, I suppose that'd be good. Safety in numbers."

Zelda blinked. "What do you mean? Is it dangerous now?"

"Um...just, never you mind." she said, turning to face the front.

Zelda frowned and awoke Link.

"Huh...what…." he said sleepily. "Are we there?" he yawned, stretching.

"No." Zelda whispered. "That woman, she's going to Kakiriko too. We're going to ride in a cab together. I think what Impa was saying really was true. Something's happening on the outskirts and on the trade roads."

Link eyed the woman in front of them. "Guess we'll find out first hand. Won't be too surprised though."

"I know. As much as I'd like for Impa to be wrong…."

"It's not." Link murmured, his eyes growing wide as he looked out the window behind Zelda. She turned and gasped.

The suburbs were dark and gray in the pale dawn light. A few fires burned and dark shadows could be seen moving amongst the empty homes. Vacant cars littered the roads. The only empty road was the large highway that stretched over the suburbs. Barbed wire and other fortifications lined the four lane highway.

"It's worse near the desert." the young woman said. "There wasnt any warning there. Here, they got everyone out in time."

"What's going on?" Link asked, though he and Zelda knew in their gut what was happening.

"The apocalypse."


	5. Kakiriko

"What do you mean the apocalypse?" Link asked incredulously. "What else could it be?" the woman asked matter of factly. "So you dont know exactly what is happening." Zelda stated. The woman flushed. "Theres not much to go on..." "Kakiriko Stop, ten minutes." the bus driver said over the intercom. "C'mon, lets get our stuff together." Zelda said, though there wasnt much to worry about; they simply maneuvered their packs over their shoulders. Link dug through his pockets and managed to pull out a few green rupees. The young woman's eyes narrowed. "Am I going to pay for the entire cab trip?" she asked scathingly. "Sorry! We're kind of broke college kids, so..." Link shrugged. "Did you even plan for this trip at all? What are two college kids doing going out of time mid semester?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, um, we just kind of-" Zelda began, cut off by the bus lurching to a stop. The group hastily departed; the sun was just barely rising and the surrounding area was still dark with shadows. Near the bus stop, a few cabs waited, their drivers sleeping in the drivers seat. As they grew closer, Link noticed each driver had some manner of weapon. The young woman knocked on the glass of the closest cab. "Could you take us to Kakiriko?" she asked after he rolled down his window. "Yeah, sure, that'll be a red rupee." the elderly man said gruffly. "A red rupee?! I dont believe this, is not even five in the 'burbs." "Yeah, well, most of the 'burbs dont have monsters crawling all over the place. Its a one hour drive through extremely dangerous territory. You are more than welcome to walk if you'd like." The young woman gazed out at the dark, deserted landscape around them. It was bare except for small patches of grass, boulders and dead trees. "Very well." she said, passing him a red rupee. "In, in." she said to Link and Zelda, motioning them into the back. She moved around the car and sat in the front. "Off we go then!" the driver said cheerily, driving out of the parking space onto a dusty road. "Oh, we never did introduce ourselves." the woman said turning in her seat to look at Link and Zelda. "My name is Saria." "I'm Zelda, and this is Link. We're friends and roommates." Zelda said. "Nice to meet you both. So what business do two college kids, who seem to still be under graduates, have in Kakiriko?" "Um...its...kind of a secret...I guess?" Link answered, unsure. He looked to Zelda who shrugged. "You probably wouldnt believe us if we told you..." Zelda said, tugging at the hem of her shirt. Saria raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Fine." she sighed after a long moment. "You dont have to tell me. But I dont have to answer any of your inquiries, either." She turned abruptly to face the front. The remainder of the ride passed in uneventful silence. Near the beginning, a few shadowy figures could be seen moving on the horizon, but as the sun continued to rise and illuminate the land, the shadows disappeared and only a few ominous large birds circled the sky. "Well, lucky for you lot, that was uneventful." the driver said as tall gates grew closer. A sign hanging above the gates read out "KAKIRIKO VILLAGE". As the cab grew close, the gates were opened by two men on the other side. Each had a different melee weapon. They quickly closed the gates behind the cab, locking it up tight. The driver came to a step next to a large and beautiful spring. "This is where you get out." he said. "Shaman lives there, theres an inn a little ways down with a bar and a few shops." He pointed to each in turn. "Have a nice day." He pulled a three point turn and departed, leaving the group standing with their belongs in the dusty road. Kakiriko looked like something out of a movie. Many roofs had rusting tin or planks of wood. Some had fallen in. Buildings stacked on top of each other, lining the small, narrow valley. Rickety support beams clung to the rock walls. "Thank Hylia!" a man said from their left. They turned to see a man emerging from the Shaman's house, his arms extended as if to embrace them all. "The heroes have come to our aid!" 


End file.
